TULALIP — Like a lot of us, Malia Schroeder of Arlington has dreamed of one day visiting Augusta National Golf Club.
But unlike a lot of us, Schroeder is really going to do it. And not just strolling the grounds, but actually hitting shots at perhaps the most historic and hallowed golf course in the world.
The 12-year-old Schroeder, a sixth-grader at Lakewood Middle School, won a regional qualifier late last summer to advance to the national finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championships. The event, for kids ages 7-15, is scheduled for Augusta National on April 1-4, the weekend before the Masters Tournament.
And to say she is thrilled is an understatement.
“I’m still kind of in awe,” Schroeder said last week, shortly before an afternoon of driving, chipping and putting practice at Battle Creek Golf Course.
Because she loves golf and enjoys watching the game on TV, she knows the significance of what she is about to do. She understands “how cool it is to make it to The Masters. That’s Augusta. … We’ve watched it on TV and it just looks so cool there. It’s so pretty. So I’m excited.”
As is the rest of the family, which includes her father, Kirk, her mother, Marissa, and her 10-year-old sister, Kiana.
“It’ll be neat to see (Augusta National) in person,” Kirk Schroeder said. “Just to be able to walk around the golf course is going to be awesome.”
They are scheduled to arrive in Augusta, Georgia, on Friday, April 1, and get settled in their accommodations. There is a Drive, Chip and Putt banquet the next day, followed by the competition and an awards ceremony on Sunday. The course opens for Masters practice rounds on Monday, and the Drive, Chip and Putt youngsters and their families get to stick around that day and watch the pros.
When they have the chance, the Schroeders want to sightsee some of the memorable spots at Augusta National. Among the possibilities, Amen Corner, the Hogan Bridge, the Eisenhower Cabin and Magnolia Lane.
Said Malia Schroeder: “There are certain places that’ll be fun to go look at.”
Of course, it is difficult to comprehend the uniqueness of Augusta National from a distance. Dave Boivin, a PGA of America instructor at Seattle’s Jackson Golf Course and Malia Schroeder’s coach, has been to Augusta National and explained it this way: “Whatever you think it’s going to be, double it.”
It was three years ago that Malia and Kiana Schroeder first entered the Drive, Chip and Putt Championships, which begin every year with local qualifying. Neither girl advanced past the opening round that first year, but they got serious about practicing and the next year both reached the regional round, held that year in Utah.
More practice followed, and last summer they qualified in the top three at a local qualifier at Bellingham’s Lake Padden Golf Course to reach the sub-regional at The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie in Lacey. Though Kiana came up a little bit short, Malia placed in the top two to advance again, this time to the regional final at Chambers Bay in University Place, where only the winner would advance.
At Chambers Bay, Malia Schroeder overcame a bad showing in chipping — she tied for last among 10 competitors — by placing first in both putting (tie) and driving to finish first overall. The funny thing was, the scoring was confusing enough that she initially thought she had come in second by a single point.
“She came up and said, ‘Oh, dad, I lost by one point.’ And I said, ‘Oh, honey, I’m sorry,’” Kirk Schroeder said. “But the next thing you know, I’ve got other dads coming over to congratulate me.
“It’s cool for dad to get to ride along on her coattails, of course,” he added. “But just to see how hard both girls have worked from the first time they competed, and then to see Malia come back from a poor chipping performance (at the regional) to take first place in the putting, first place in the driving and then first place overall, that was amazing.”
At the national championships, which will be televised live by The Golf Channel, the competitors will include 10 regional champions for both boys and girls in the 7-9, 10-11, 12-13 and 14-15 age groups, with Malia Schroeder competing in girls 12-13. They will chip to a target and drive for both distance and accuracy on the course’s practice areas, but the real treat will be the putting competition — to be held on Augusta National’s 18th green.
The winner in each age group gets a very nice trophy, but the true reward is one all the competitors will share.
“When Malia and I talked about it,” Boivin said, “she told me, ‘I’ve already won. We’re going to Augusta.’ And that really is the prize.”
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